Cheese please! The Appenzeller Cheese Factory is an interactive museum, cheese shop, restaurant and outdoor playground. St. Gallen, Switzerland.
The "it" factor
What makes it special:
Interactivity - explore the museum with a key and learn about cheese through opening large locked doors
Mouse Jakob - open the small locked doors and discover the local legends
Make your own herbs bag
What needs to be considered:
Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei) is quite small and the tour will take you less than 1 hour. Consider combining it with a visit to the Schaukäserei restaurant, maestrani chocolate factory (20 minutes drive away), the Appenzeller folklore museum (next door) or the Neckertal Treetop walk (25 minutes drive away).
Don't feel like reading? Watch a video about Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei) instead!
The education factor
What's behind the doors?
The Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei) is inviting us on an interactive cheese journey. At the ticket office you receive a key that you (or your kids) can use to open different doors and panels around the museum. Behind each of them you will find displays about the art and culture of cheese making and the region. With more interactive objects scattered around museum, such as binoculars or cow bells, this museum ticks all the boxes of being engaging for kids.
2. How is cheese made?
If you come early enough during the day (which we did not), you can see for yourself how cheese is made in Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei). Even if you arrive late, it is quite impressive to see the mountains of cheese resting and maturing in the large storage room, with a robot continuously flipping them on the other side. We wondered how tedious this cheese flipping job must have been back in the day before machines took over.
The fun factor
1. Adventure with Mouse Jakob
Meet Jakob the Mouse (Chäsli Jakob). He invites kids to find the little doors scattered around the Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei) and to open them with the key that you get at the ticket office. Behind each door is a little story about Jakob and a legend about the mountains (in German only). Our 4 year old found this adventure really exciting.
2. Make your own herbs
Along with your ticket, you also get a little bag so you can prepare your own herbal mix. Pick your preferred one, crush it in a special device and bring it home to spice up your favorite cheeses. It's a fun activity for parents and kids at Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei).
3. Cheese themed playground
There is also a nice outdoor playground with cheese themed activities - seesaw, swings, trampoline, turntable and the large cheese house with a climbing wall and a slide.
We were there on a rainy day so we had to skip it this time but it looks fun and hopefully we can do it next time!
The food factor
Our tip: if you like cheese, come hungry. There is not much cheese tasting at the museum. You just receive a small box with a few pieces of cheese with different length of maturing (3- 9 months) to compare the taste. There is, however, a restaurant with a large selection of cheese based dishes, such as fondue, rösti & cordon bleu. You'll have to be hungry because it's not light but you can really taste the quality of the cheese, making it worth it.
The kid's menu has the typical offering. Alternatively there is a shop where you can buy a large selection of cheeses (not just Appenzeller), meats and memorabilia.
Groups over 6 / 10 people (depending on the option) can do cheese, beer and cider tastings - advanced booking required.
The value factor
In 2023 the prices were as follows:
Adults: CHF 12.00
Children (6-16 years): CHF 7.00
Families (max. 5 persons): CHF 28.00
Children up to 6 years: Free
You can also buy combined tickets with the Chocolarium - Maestrani chocolate factory (20 CHF for adults and 12 CHF for kids), which is just 20 minutes drive away, or combined tickets with the Apenzeller Folklore museum (20 CHF for adults and 12 CHF for kids), which is just next door to the Schaukäserei.
If you arrive by train, you can get 20% off your ticket.
Appenzeller cheese factory (Schaukäserei) - practical info
Address: Dorf 711, 9063 Stein
The Appenzeller Schaukäserei is quite small and the tour will take you less than 1 hour. Consider combining with a visit to the Schaukäserei restaurant, maestrani chocolate factory (20 minutes drive away), an Appenzeller folklore museum (next door) or a Neckertal Treetop walk (25 minutes drive away)